Land reservation lapses without effective acquisition steps; resolutions and letters alone do not satisfy the statutory requirement.

Reservation under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act lapses if, after notice under Section 127, the authorities do not take effective acquisition steps within the statutory period; a bare resolution, proposal, or letter to the Collector is insufficient because commencement of acquisition is marked by the statutory declaration contemplated by Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act. The earlier interpretation of "no steps as aforesaid" was affirmed, with the expression confined to real acquisition action under the scheme of Sections 126 and 127, not preliminary administrative acts. The prior authorities were reconciled, no larger Bench reference was found necessary, and the impugned orders were upheld.

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Issues: (i) Whether a reservation under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 lapses when, after service of notice under Section 127, the Planning Authority merely passes a resolution or sends a proposal or letter to the Collector without publication of a declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. (ii) Whether the earlier view on Section 127 and the meaning of "no steps as aforesaid" required reconsideration.

Issue (i): Whether a reservation under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 lapses when, after service of notice under Section 127, the Planning Authority merely passes a resolution or sends a proposal or letter to the Collector without publication of a declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

Analysis: Section 127 gives the landowner a statutory safeguard where reserved land is not acquired within ten years of the final plan and, after notice, no acquisition or commencement of acquisition steps occurs within the prescribed period. The acquisition scheme under Sections 126 and 127 shows that the relevant commencement of proceedings is not achieved by a bare resolution or by forwarding a request to the Collector. The effective step towards acquisition is the State Government's declaration under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Accepting a mere proposal or letter as sufficient would defeat the scheme of the Act, keep the land under reservation indefinitely, and expose the owner to deprivation of property without compensation.

Conclusion: Mere passing of a resolution or sending of a proposal or letter does not amount to commencement of acquisition steps, and the reservation lapses if no effective acquisition step is taken within the statutory period after notice.

Issue (ii): Whether the earlier view on Section 127 and the meaning of "no steps as aforesaid" required reconsideration.

Analysis: The prior authorities were reconciled and read together. The expression "no steps as aforesaid" was held to refer to the actual acquisition steps contemplated by Section 126, not to preliminary or internal administrative acts. The later Constitution Bench ruling on Section 11A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 did not dilute the separate scheme under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966; rather, it supported the proposition that the State Act contains its own time-frame and consequences for default. No conflict requiring reference to a larger Bench was found.

Conclusion: No reconsideration by a larger Bench was required, and the earlier interpretation of Section 127 was affirmed.

Final Conclusion: The statutory scheme under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 requires real and effective commencement of acquisition within the prescribed time, and the impugned orders were upheld with all appeals dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, the reservation of land lapses unless, within the prescribed period after notice, the authorities take effective acquisition steps culminating in the statutory declaration contemplated by Section 126 of the Act; preliminary resolutions or correspondence are insufficient.

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